Working with EggplantsEggplants (Solanum melongena) are a truly great vegetable,
practically worshiped over much of the world. It is, though, rather neglected
by Americans - probably because they haven't learned how to cook them. As
you will see below, it really isn't hard to do.

In all cases eggplants should be bright in color and without bruises and
in particular without brown spots or dents which indicate they've been stored
too long. Select eggplants heavy for their size because this indicates a
young fruit which will have better texture than an older one.

As you can see from the Eggplant Page
there are quite a few varieties. Most, however, are quite similar in flavor,
texture and cooking properties so selection of variety is often a matter of
what size and shape fits the recipe best.

The exceptions to interchangeability are:

Globe Eggplants have tough skins that generally need to be
peeled so they don't substitute well for small eggplants where the
peel is generally part of the recipe.

White Eggplants have tough skins and need to be peeled which
makes them unsuitable for many recipes calling for small eggplants.

Thai Eggplants remain much firmer than others when cooked so
if you have to substitute Indian or Asian eggplants keep the cooking
time to a minimum and treat them gently.

Many chefs, cooking sites and cookbooks instruct you on how to tell
a "male" eggplant from a "female" eggplant. These people all need a
refresher course in sex education, and perhaps remedial biology.

Eggplants are fruit. They do not and can not have sex - they are the
product of sex in the flower. Eggplant flowers are all both male and
female, and the fruit is a product of the female part of the flower - no
exceptions.

It is claimed "male" eggplants have a small round flower scar,
have fewer seeds and are "less bitter". "Female" eggplants are said to
have a larger, elongated flower scar, more seeds and more "bitter
juices". Most say to buy only the "male" ones, but a few advisors get
it the other way around.

Now, I'm not yet convinced eggplants actually have "bitter juices",
but as for the quantity of seeds, there may be some truth in this flower
scar theory. Those with a stretched out scar may have been more
thoroughly pollinated, thus more seeds. It is not, however, from gender
differentiation.

Many sources recommend cutting eggplants only with stainless or
ceramic knives to avoid discoloration. I haven't bothered to verify
this since good stainless knives are much more common than carbon steel
knives these days, but be informed.

Before peeling or cutting eggplant, prepare a big bowl of water with a
teaspoon of citric acid or juice of a lemon in it and a teaspoon of salt.
Cut surfaces should be immediately plunged into this water and kept wet
to avoid browning and becoming ugly.

Peeling

Eggplants do not always have to be peeled. In particular the smaller
sizes and long thin ones are usually not peeled, but the large globe
eggplants and white eggplants have thicker skins and are often peeled.
Eggplants for stuffing are not peeled regardless of size.

Eggplants present a much more difficult peeling problem than their
relatives the peppers and tomatoes. The butane blowtorch which works so
well on peppers doesn't work. Scalding, which does a great
job on tomatoes doesn't work at all. Paring knives are hard to
control and tend to take way too much eggplant.

Broiler / Grill Method: This method
chars the skin under a preheated broiler or over a charcoal or gas grill.
This also cooks the eggplant quite deeply, even all the way through.
The charred skin can contribute flavor to the eggplant which may be
desirable, depending on recipe. Of course, if you grill over charcoal
you'll impart even more flavor. Do Not attempt to char the
eggplant over a gas burner - this doesn't work even as well as the
blowtorch.

Generally you will split the eggplant lengthwise and place the halves
cut side down on an oiled foil, then slide under the broiler. You can do
narrow eggplants whole if you need to by turning during broiling. I find
this method works much better if you lightly oil the skins before
broiling. Once they have become wrinkled and the eggplant is cooked through,
cool it enough to handle and pull the skin off in lengthwise strips.
Start your strip thin, just the skin, because it'll maintain the starting
depth for the full length. A thick peel will compromise the integrity of
your eggplant.

Vegetable Peeler Method: I find this the
best solution in most cases. You don't have to heat up the broiler or have
hot coals ready. I prefer a very sharp "Y" shaped peeler rather than the
straight models. Some of these are designed for vegetables with a much
smaller diameter than a big globe eggplant so they may have feet at the
corners that keep the blade from contacting the skin. These feet can be
cut or filed off.

Many sources say to salt eggplant slices or cubes and let them sweat
for 1/2 hour to an hour "to draw out the bitter juices". I am not
convinced that eggplants have any bitter juices or that this treatment would
draw them out if they did.

Salting does, however, perform a very useful function. If you are going
to fry the eggplant in oil this treatment greatly reduces the amount of oil
that will be absorbed. Unsalted eggplant is an oil sponge without peer.

First give the eggplant the citric acid bath as described under cutting
and peeling, then drain and salt it liberally. Let the eggplant sweat in a
glass or stainless bowl for between 1/2 and 1 hour, turning now and then.
Finally rinse the eggplant in several changes of warm water until it does
not taste too salty.

Eggplants are a favorite vegetable for stuffing all over the world, and
in all sizes from chicken egg to football. They may be sliced lengthwise,
crosswise or just the stem end cut off and the flesh scooped out. This
flesh is often returned as part of the stuffing.

There is one nearly perfect tool for hollowing out eggplants quickly and
without damage - it's called a "butter curler" (and you can use it for
curling butter too!).

Start by cutting the eggplant in the direction the recipe calls for. Then
outline the area to be scooped out with a small sharp knife cutting as deep
as is safe. Then take the butter curler and scoop away. until you've worked
out to the knife cut.

As you work plunge the pieces you remove into a bowl
filled with water acidulated with citric acid or lemon juice with some salt
added. This will keep it from browning and looking ugly. When you are
through with the scooping rinse out the shell with the same acidulated
water to prevent it from browning.

Frying: Many recipes call for a horrifying amount of
olive oil. The specified amount can often be cut in half if you salt the
eggplant pieces as described above.

In general you'll want to use Pure Olive Oil, not Extra Virgin. You could
keep the frying temperature low enough for extra virgin, but even
salted eggplant will absorb so much oil that extra virgin is likely to
be overpowering. For even less olive flavor, perhaps desirable in Asian
recipes, use Olive Pommace oil.